A Collection of Penny Parker Sickfics
by AuthorandArtist13
Summary: This is a collection of stories with Penny Parker (aka your friendly neighborhood Spidergirl) stressed, hurt, etc., with plenty of whump and h/c along the way. Essentially, it's the same idea as my other ongoing series, but I've swapped out Peter for Pen. Prompts and reviews welcome!
1. Who Did This To You?

**A/N: I had a few wonderful reviewers who said they'd be interested in more Penny Parker fics, so here you go! Enjoy. :)**

* * *

There wasn't enough patience in the world today for James Buchanan Barnes. Especially when it came to someone messing around with Penny.

She had come into the compound kitchen after school a lot quieter than she usually did. Bucky tried to convince himself that he was just imagining it. But after moving into the compound after Tony cleaned up the Accords nonsense, he'd been seeing Penny around a lot more often. And today, something was definitely off. Penny had her hood pulled over her head, which was tucked downward, hiding her face from view. She shuffled into the kitchen as nonchalantly as possible, then startled when she saw Bucky at the counter. He turned to face her, smile falling when she ducked in the opposite direction, pulling open the massive fridge doors.

"Hey, Pen," he said casually. The chaotic rifling noises from the fridge stopped. "I made sandwiches."  
"Oh, uh-cool." her voice replied. It was wavering ever so slightly.  
"I have turkey."  
"That's nice." _Oh yeah._ Something was up.  
"Uh-huh." Bucky padded over to the fridge, leaning against the counter. "So...you gonna stop hiding and eat some?"  
"I'm not _hiding_."  
"Oh really?" Bucky laughed. _This kid._ "What would you say you're doing, then?"  
"Uh...selecting a bagel."  
"Mm-hm. Alright, punk. Tell me what's-" Bucky swung the fridge door shut and froze. Penny's eyes locked onto his for a split second, then fell back towards the ground.

She had a massive shiner. Her left eye was swollen shut, the area around it turning a gruesome purple and green. Bucky inhaled slowly, dragging a hand over his face. When he spoke, his voice was dangerously low.

"Who did this to you?"

They both knew it was hardly a question.

"It doesn't matter. I'm fine." Penny sat down at one of the island's barstools, tracing patterns into the marbled countertop. Bucky had to keep himself from demanding to know, _now._ Because yeah, it did matter, and no, she isn't fine. Not to him. They were both silent as he opened the freezer and snagged a bag of peas, which he plopped into her open palm.

"There. Ice it." Gently, he brought her hand clutching the peas up to her eye. She winced as the solid bumped her tender skin, then sighed in relief at the coolness. Bucky sat down at the island across from her. For a few moments, it was silent. Bucky didn't want to push her. He didn't want to seem cold or angry. So instead he chewed his turkey sandwich and waited for her to talk first. And she did.

"Thank you." It came out more like a whisper than anything. But it was enough.  
"Did it happen on patrol?" Penny hesitated. "Don't lie. I'm not upset with you."  
"But you are upset."  
He spoke slowly, trying to convey the message as best he could."Yeah, at the bastard that did this to you. I could...never be angry with you. It would be like being angry with Steve."  
"But you do get angry at Steve."  
This time Bucky laughed lightly. "Yeah, because he's stupid. I don't hold it against him, though."  
Penny relaxed a little. "So what do you do? If you're mad at him."  
"I chew him out." Bucky smiled. "And you think _he's_ the preachy one."

Penny gave a wry smile back, and they fell back into silence. They did this a lot, he and Penny. He wasn't one for words, and so unless she felt like making up for it (and boy, would she, on the best days), they kind of just...were. Together. It was companionable. Never tense. Which surprised him, because awkward, uncomfortable silences were practically his new normal, even around his...friends. The Avengers. Whatever.

Sometimes he and Penny would bake together, trading favorite songs to listen to as they mixed and measured and iced. Sometimes, when Steve was around, she would visit and the two of them would watch Steve sketch at the park. He always brought seed to feed the birds-Penny loved feeding the birds. He'd never forget the look of wonder on her face when one finally landed in her cupped palm for the first time.

Damn.

Sometimes he forgot that this was Stark's kid.

It would hit him, some days, that he had no right trying to...what? Mentor her? She already had one of those. And hers wasn't a dangerous, brainwashed murderer. It didn't matter, though. He still made her priority number two, right after Steve. Protect at all costs. And right now, he was looking directly into the eyes of a mission failure.

"It didn't happen at patrols." Penny said, breaking his train of thought. Bucky looked up from his sandwich.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Penny nodded, seemingly searching for words, and Bucky pushed his plate with the other uneaten sandwich half towards her. She took it gratefully, chewing thoughtfully as she ate.

"It was at school." she said after swallowing. "There's this kid...Flash. He's just your typical douchebag. You know, knocking books out of your arms, classy nicknames, picking fights." She nodded resolutely. "Anyways, after school he grabbed my arm and I sort of spat in his face, and...he punched me." she shrugged.  
"Why didn't you hit him back? You could take him." Bucky asked, brow furrowed.  
Penny laughed. "Oh, I know. I've fought aliens, remember? Those orange ones last summer? But I can't fight him. I've got a secret identity to uphold."  
"You can't show them how strong you are." Bucky said, realization washing over him.  
Penny nodded. "Yup. So I run slow in gym and pretend like a can't do more than a few pull-ups and whatever. It's a little tricky, sometimes, to be honest."  
"Tricky how?"  
"You try explaining away a sudden lack of asthma and increase in muscle mass overnight."  
Bucky laughed again. "You sound like Steve." he crumpled up his napkin. "But what's this kid's real name?"  
"Bucky, don't. It's fine. You don't have to step in." Penny pleaded. "I can handle this."

Cue the internal battle in Bucky's mind. In the end, he agreed. Reluctantly.

"Fine. But if he hits you again…"  
"Then I'll deal with it."  
"Okay." But her answer didn't seem to satisfy him. "C'mere. Lemme see."  
She pulled back the melting bag of peas and he let his real fingers brush over it gently, scrutinizing the damage. Penny suppressed a flinch.  
"It'll be gone in half an hour." she said.  
"Not making me feel much better."  
"He happens to be a fan of Spidergirl."  
Bucky stopped his examination and locked eyes with her. "No."  
She smirked. "Yes."  
A grin crept up Bucky's face.

* * *

Two weeks later, Eugene Thompson would receive a mysterious package in the mail. It would have no return address whatsoever. Much to his delight, inside the box was a jacket, emblazoned with Spidergirl's logo. He would never understand why, whenever he wore it, the Winter Soldier himself would seem to be wherever where he was. He would never find the tiny tracker tucked into the tag.

Penny remained confused as to why Bucky was being seen around town more as well, but she would merely chalk it up to his being more socially active all of a sudden.

Bucky figured it was easier to just go with that.

* * *

**A/N: Aaaand here's where I throw in all those little updates for y'all, so you know what I'm up to. What would you say about short drabbles posted here, or on another series? They'd be pretty short n' sweet, but it would be a chance for me to do more prompts faster, including ones from you guys. Maybe I'd do two series, for Penny and Peter? Let me know what you think. **

**That's all for now. Thank you for reading, and please take a moment to leave a review! They always make my day. :) Oh, and if you're interested in more Penny fics to read right now, check out I Would Count the Seas of Stars For You, ft. protective Nat and a kidnapped Pen.**

** Alright, g'bye for now,**  
**-A.A.13**


	2. (Gun) Shots, Shots, Shots

**A/N: Hello again! Since the lovely coronavirus has kept me at home while my semester is momentarily on hold, I figured I'd finally get around to publishing something new. Enjoy!**

* * *

"I've got two more over here, Cap!"

Penny Parker swung around a building and launched herself over a streetlamp, webbing up yet another tech-covered Hydra agent. She and a good majority of the team (minus Bruce and Thor) were currently fighting off a swarm of them, all of whom were loaded with heavy duty weaponry. It wasn't going great, but they were finally seeming to get an edge.

Penny snapped up another web and swung forward, a shout escaping when a bullet flew by her ear, grazing the material of her suit. She looked down.

"Uh, hey guys? I'm seriously understaffed here."

"I can't get over there," Tony's voice crackled over the comms, slightly robotic from his suit. "Who can give Underoos a hand?"

"I'm swamped, Tony." Clint said.

"Same here. These bastards are-_shit!" _Sam's voice cut out abruptly with a grunt, followed by an agonizing groan. Penny tried to spot him in the fight, but the group of Hydra agents around her demanded her full attention.

"Sam's down," Natasha said, followed by Sam trying to refuse in gasping sentences. "We need an evac."

Penny lost track of where the conversation went after that. She managed to disarm two of the agents before a gun whipped her across her face, sending her sprawling backward onto the concrete. Her head slammed against the pavement.

"Guys?" she choked out. Her vision warped and she stood blindly, firing her webshooters at anything that moved. "Help. Please."

"I got your six, kid." A familiar voice rang out in the comms, and a few seconds later there was a flash of brown hair and a metal arm. Bucky glanced at her briefly before smashing in the skulls of as many of the agents as he could. Penny staggered, trying in vain to help as much as she could with her sight going in and out of focus. Voices were still echoing through her comms, friendly and tense banter alike filtering through. Penny heard all of it and registered none. She thought she heard Bucky talking to her every few seconds in between punches, but she couldn't remember.

Her aim was getting more and more clumsy, her hands were shaking harder and harder. Just as she caught Bucky turning to look at her, pain exploded through her shoulder and she collapsed, a gasp caught in her throat as she hit the ground. She saw Bucky fling the gunman halfway down the street with a growl before dropping on his knees beside her. He touched her shoulder and she screamed, bucking against his hold.

"Shit, _shit-_alright, you're okay, kid, stay with me," he murmured, rolling her onto her back as gently as he could. Penny squeezed her eyes shut, teeth grit as waves of agony roiled over her. Something pressed down, _hard_, on the wound and another cry ripped itself from her throat. Bucky slipped his real hand into hers.

"Here, squeeze this."

She did, trying as hard as she could to not break his fingers. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry-" she was cut off by another grunt of pain.

"Don't be sorry," Bucky murmured, keeping steady pressure on her shoulder. "You're gonna be okay, let's get you some backup."

Penny became distantly aware of the flurry of voices talking to her and Bucky through the comms, the most prominent being Tony's panicked one.

"Spidergirl has a gunshot wound, lodged bullet, still conscious," Bucky said. "Need to get her to the jet stat."

"I've got eyes on them," Clint said. "On my way now."

Penny was going in and out of focus, the world tilting and blurring nauseatingly. She kept her eyes closed against the sensory overload. Bucky was still muttering into his comm. She could hear the last of the fight wrapping up around her. She was so exhausted...maybe they wouldn't mind if she called it a day…

"_-ny!"_

Bucky was shouting her name in a voice that meant he'd been saying it more than once. Penny groaned and cracked her eyes open. Bucky's brow was furrowed in concern, hair hanging in his face as he leaned over her.

"Stay awake."

* * *

And then there was a second pair of hands on her, tugging away the lower part of her mask.

"Breathe, Pen. You gotta breathe. Dang, kid, they got you good."

She tried to breathe, she really did, but choked sobs were blocking every inhale. Clint pressed two fingers to her neck, lips pressed together in concern. All traces of the usual teasing she was expecting from him was gone. "That's it, you're tough. This is nothing."

It didn't feel like nothing, but okay. Distraction methods.

Penny lay there, crying, as something was pressed to her shoulder and someone else coached her on how to get oxygen to her lungs. She had known who it was a second ago...Her head was pounding. Someone was shaking her, hard.

"Jeez, Clint, she's shaking like a leaf."

Or maybe that was just her.

"Alright, Friday? Is it safe to move her?"

A pause, in which the only sounds were her pained wheezes and the ongoing fight a few blocks down.

"Let's go."

"Okay, Penny. Bucky here is gonna carry you to the jet." Clint said. Clint. That's who that was. Was he saying something? His lips were moving, but the sound was warbled, muffled in her ringing ears. And then, before she could ask, Bucky wrapped careful arms around her, scooping her up as if she weighed nothing. Penny clenched her jaw shut and dug her fingers into her palms when her shoulder and head were jostled.

And then they were moving, jogging to the jet while Clint stayed close behind for cover. Penny fisted her hand in Bucky's shirt as she shook, and he murmured something she couldn't make out.

* * *

The next few hours were a blur. She remembered being set on a comfortable cot. Voices, lots of voices. And pain. So much pain. There had been strong hands, too, trying to hold her down while she fought to claw her way out of the excruciating feeling locked inside her.

She had one memory clear enough to decipher. She was writhing on a cot, white-knuckled fingers ripping through the sheets in vain as she begged for something, _anything, _to make it _stop. _She didn't scream-or, she didn't remember screaming. Sweat poured down her face and she whispered incoherent pleas hoarsely as someone-Natasha?- tried for the second time to run an IV in her arm.

A hand raked through her hair. "Penny. Hey, Spidergirl. Look at me." She pulled her gaze up to see Clint kneeling next to the cot, his thumb stroking her temple gently. "There you are. Hey, hey-it's gonna be okay, kiddo." he was giving her that look again-that protective, worried, near parental look. He attempted a wry smile. "How about this? You stick this hellscape out and I tell you about my mission with Natasha in Hong Kong." Penny almost missed the eyebrow Natasha raised, still focused on her IV.

"Sounds like a...lose-lose situation...to me." Penny choked out. Clint barked out a laugh.

"That's cold!"

Penny can't remember much about what happened after that. If Clint did tell a story or not, or if she said anything else. All she knew was a prick in her arm, and unbelievable, sleepy coolness.

* * *

**A/N: Ending yet another chapter with the main character falling asleep? It's far more likely than you'd think. **

**If you're interested in more Penny fics, check out my latest: Coming Out (For You, For Me). I'm also planning on wrapping up my Author Q&A, so send in those asks now! **

**Thank you guys for reading, and feel free to drop in a review. :)**


	3. Rogues and Recovery

**A/N: I think I've found my newest temporary niche: writing Bucky and Sam as mother hens. (Blame it on all the fics I've been binging!) I'm typing this while I listen to one of those "Hamilton soundtrack that speeds up every time x happens" videos, so don't be surprised if the next drabble I post is absolute crack. Help. XD**

**Enjoy, and stay safe!**

* * *

Penny wasn't sure how to feel about them at first-Sam, Steve, Natasha, and Bucky. Sure, the Sokovia Accords nonsense was steamrolled, and all right, the team was technically back together again. But the effects of what had happened still lingered. They were still there, in the tense way Tony held himself most days, how his laugh didn't come so easily anymore, and the way he'd put an arm around her protectively when she was properly introduced impromptu-style to the Rogues. The damage was still being dealt with. And Penny wasn't about to misplace her trust.

Time wore on, however, and with it came changes.

Now that all of the Avengers seemed fairly content to stay at the Compound (save for Sam, who had his own apartment nearby; and Wanda, who found a place with Vision), they all seemed to have an unspoken agreement to not slice each other open over the past. Team meetings and training kicked up again at Steve's insistence, and to her surprise, Penny was invited along for most of them. She hadn't expected the rest of the team to get over how young she was that quickly; Tony probably had something to do with that. Apparently those weren't the only bonding experiences going on, either-there were dinners and new missions and even an honest-to-goodness _movie night _that ended with Penny slumped into the corner of the couch, her feet pressing into Natasha's thigh.

And then there was that time she had gotten sensory overload on a patrol, and Steve had swooped in out of nowhere, taking out the masked robbers and calling Tony to pick her up. She remembered him waiting with her until Tony arrived. The two men exchanged curt nods before Penny crawled into the back of Tony's Audi and sped away.

Or the countless times she'd spent the night at the Compound and staggered into the kitchen for breakfast, where Clint would chuck a banana at her head that she'd catch lazily, or Wanda would offer her a cup of steaming tea.

Time heals, people said. And maybe they were right. But even though Penny's trust for these people was growing, she still had other wounds festering beneath the surface.

* * *

She had been training with Bucky and Sam-had been paired up with just the two of them for the first time. Usually Rhodey or Tony or even Thor was sent with her, but after months of inter-team practice, she figured Steve was probably right to start mixing it up. Besides, she kind of knew them now. She'd had a really cool discussion about the schematics of the metal arm with Bucky recently, and the week before she'd kicked Sam's ass in sparring...finally proved herself to him, in a way. She knew them. It was fine.

They were using the B.A.R.F. technology to simulate possible real-life battle scenarios with a challenge in place-no weapons or special super-suits on anyone, real or pixelated. A good chance to try out those combat skills Natasha had shown them. Penny had to admit she was actually having a little bit of fun. They traded banter and got to throw around some fake Hydra agents against the walls. Bucky tossed one her direction and she took it out with one well-placed roundhouse kick, laughing. Everything was going normally.

That is, until an innocent passerby got hit.

It was just pixels, of course it was, but the blood seeping from the fake gunshot wound looked so _real. _One minute Penny was cracking a joke with Sam, the next her blood ran ice cold and her head snapped to the side to look. The man was writhing, shuddering for air on the hot pavement beneath him. Penny gasped and dropped to her knees beside the man, pressing both hands over the area. They slipped in the slick of sticky red, covering her palms, getting under her fingernails, and the _stench. _Penny swore she could smell it, that she was choking on it again. It was just like when Ben-

When Ben

It was like

The blood-so much-

Like-

"-y, hey, kid? Where'd you get hit?"

Had she been hit, too? No, she didn't need any help. She had to keep pressure on the wound.

_Blood blood bloodbloodblood like your eardrums when the shots went off-_

She couldn't pay attention to herself, _her fault, _she had to put pressure-oh God, it was _everywhere-_

"Kid!" Sam's face warbled on the edges of her vision, trying to duck into her line of sight, but she kept her gaze firmly on the dying man in front of her.

_You should have been there in time. You should have said something other than "Don't go."_

"Someone get help!" she screamed. "Somebody-please-" she wheezed. Her lungs ached, and black spots were swarming in her line of sight. "_Please…"_

Distantly, she heard familiar voices. "Sam, what's-?"

"She's not breathing. FRIDAY, shut it down."

A whir, and then the street and the body and the river of blood flickered out, leaving nothing but the pristine training room behind. A swarm of drones filed away to their storage cabinet, their sensors beeping lazily.

Penny blinked dazedly and examined her hands. They were clean, not a trace of blood on them. That couldn't be right. But her fingernails, too, were clean. No, no, that made no sense, the blood was right _there, _Ben had been right _there, _she had gone back there again, so where was the evidence? Surely there was still blood caked into the cracks and grooves _last time it took her hours to wash away _if she just looked hard enough, she just wasn't looking hard enough _didn't try hard enough-_

"Penny, Penny, _stop!"_

Hands were grabbing her wrists, holding them firmly, and Penny was jolted back into reality. Bucky was clutching her hands. They were red and raw from scratch marks. Did she…?

"Whoa, kiddo, you're all right. Just breathe." Sam coaxed. She was sitting on the ground, Sam in front of her. Bucky let go of her hands and moved back a half step, hovering close by.

"That's it. Move some air."

The reality of what happened crashed onto her and Penny gasped, choking on her inhale as her throat clogged with tears.

"Sam…" she cried. "Oh my God, _Sam…"_

"Shh," Sam shushed her, voice kinder than she'd ever heard it. Bucky stood abruptly and strode out of the room. "No, hey, you're okay. Just match my breaths. Here." he held her palm-_no don't touch it, the blood-_to his chest, solid and warm. She could hear both of their hearts beating, every exhale and swallow. She focused in on it, hand gripping the fabric of Sam's workout shirt desperately as she grappled to anchor herself to it.

"There we go." Sam said after a moment, when Penny's inhales weren't being cut off by the lump in her throat. Bucky returned with a glass of water in one hand. Penny took it gratefully and drank.

"Thanks." she said softly, cheeks burning. _God_, she was so stupid, freaking out like that. Full-blown panicking in front of the _Falcon _and the damn _Winter Soldier _like an absolute idiot.

Sam pressed his lips together.

"How you feeling now?"

"Like shit." Her voice scratched.

Bucky huffed, lips turning up ever so slightly. "Figures. You look like you've just seen a ghost."

The words were out of Penny's mouth in a croaked whisper before she could stop herself. "I did. I-I could've sworn…" she ran a hand over her face and groaned.

"Sworn what?" Sam asked gently. Penny stared at the gym mat they were resting on, picking at a tear in the vinyl. Dread crept up her throat. If she told them, would they think she was crazy? Or unstable? What if they told Steve she couldn't be on the team anymore?

Bucky placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Sam here won't make you talk, Spidey, but we won't judge you if you do. I can guarantee we've both heard worse."

Penny swallowed and nodded.

"I just-when the guy got, got shot-it looked like when Ben did...I just freaked out."

"Ben?" Bucky questioned. _Who the hell was Ben?_

"My uncle."

Bucky hummed. "I'm sorry, kid, that sucks."

"Yeah." Penny picked at the mat harder. "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened, I just…" The mat ripped and she stopped, choosing to wring her hands in her lap instead.

"Panicked?" Sam supplied.

"There was so much blood." Penny whispered.

"Oh, kiddo," Sam said, running a hand up and down her back. Penny sobbed once, harsh and sharp, and curled in on herself. Sam and Bucky exchanged a sad glance over her head.

"Can I give you a hug, Pen?" Sam asked. Penny nodded and Sam pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair as she cried into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Don't be sorry," Bucky murmured as he got up to snag a protein bar from a nearby cupboard. "Here." he tapped her on the shoulder and handed her the protein bar. "Eat. You'll feel better."

Penny obeyed, unwrapping the bar and taking a tiny bite. "Thanks. Oh, good, chocolate. That'll cure my depression." she took another bite and attempted a small smile. "Yep. All good now."

Bucky shook his head with a good-natured eye-roll. "Take another, then."

She ate three, Sam and Bucky making purposeful small talk with each other to cut the tension in the room as she did. When she crumpled the last wrapper, Sam turned to her.

"How you doin' now?"

"Better. Still, like, traumatized and whatever, but it's fine." Penny shrugged flippantly, but the weariness in her posture and red, raw eyes were proof of the opposite. Sam nodded.

"Yeah. Not trying to parent you here-" he didn't miss the _oh really? _look Bucky shot him- "But maybe you should wash up, get some rest. Take it easy for the rest of today."

"Maybe I will," Penny said, standing and stretching. She went to step into the elevator, then turned. "I-thanks." she said, blushing. "You didn't have to do that or anything, but...it means a lot."

"You're welcome, kid," Bucky smiled and tilted his chin towards Sam. "Just make sure to kick this guy's ass during training next time, okay?"

Penny laughed wetly. "Yeah, sure."

"Oh, okay then," Sam said indignantly. "Well, you can tell grandpa here to-"

The elevator doors slid shut and Penny disappeared behind them, effectively cutting Sam off. He turned towards Bucky.

"...Call Stark and tell him to make sure the kid's alright tonight."

"Already done."

* * *

Neither of them would admit it out loud for a while, but if they made sure Penny was included in a few more team movie nights, or that she had backup on her more dangerous patrols, then they wouldn't deny it.

* * *

**A/N: If you guys enjoyed, please send in a review! They mean so, so much, even if it's just a keyboard smash or an emoji. I've been re-reading your guys' kind words as encouragement during this chaos, and I hope this fic helped make your day a little better, too. Thank you for reading! **

**Until next time. **

**-A.A.13 **


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